Chuck McCutcheon: On Climate Change Advice and Your Kids

At ClimateMama we have the good fortune of meeting so many wonderful and committed people, who from so many different perspectives, work together to help us understand and communicate the reality and urgency of the climate crisis. Someone we met recently that we would love to introduce you and the kids in your life to, is journalist and author Chuck McCutcheon. Join us as we get to know Chuck a little better.

What inspired you to write your book, What are Global Warming and Climate Change, Answers for Young Readers?

I’ve been a journalist living all over the U.S. since the 1980s and have seen what an extremely important issue climate change has become. Since moving to Washington, I’ve focused on the political debates about it. I had written another book on the world’s first nuclear waste garbage dump, and subsequently my publisher, University of New Mexico Press, asked me if I would write a book on nuclear energy as part of a new series on science and environmental books for middle-school students. I said I’d rather address climate change.
As a parent, how can I use your book to empower my own children?

My book is unique among ones on this subject in that I use a question-and-answer format to cover all the issues — the science, the politics, the potential solutions and what people can do to reduce their carbon footprint. I spent a great deal of time working with scientists, students and teachers to ensure the material was readable and accurate. So parents who read my book can ask their children questions, then discuss the answers. I also include several separate activities to enhance their understanding of the issue.

What is the key message/point you see that I can give my children about the following:
The seriousness of the crisis we face:
There should be no doubt by now that the earth is getting warmer at a much faster rate than in the past, and that humans are responsible. This isn’t a liberal or conservative view; it’s the scientific reality. Parts of the world already are being affected — in March 2012, leaders of the Pacific island nation of Kirbati said they were considering moving their entire nation’s population to Fiji because of the threat of rising sea levels blamed on climate change.

Our ability as individuals and as a nation to tackle it:
This isn’t something that should be left to politicians or experts to solve. Other positive societal changes have happened and become ingrained in everyday life because people took an interest and then took proactive action. The recycling movement is just one example. I’d like to think it’s incumbent especially on children to take an interest in climate change. It affects everyone. And as one student told me, “This is our generation’s issue. We’re going to be the ones who are paying for it.”

Steps we can take as a family:
I devote a whole chapter of my book to what families and kids can do. They range from always filling the dishwasher with full loads to planting trees, bicycling instead of driving, and making sure they buy energy-efficient appliances.
Empowerment tools for kids: Several students I spoke with for the book became empowered through joining global warming clubs. Others were empowered by watching “An Inconvenient Truth.” But there are other ways. Above all else, I think it’s empowering for kids to learn as much as they can — my book includes a list of other books as well as a variety of websites devoted to climate change.

Empowerment tools for parents:
All those same suggestions apply for adults. Ideally, my book and others like it will motivate them to teach their children how important this is. I welcome any questions or feedback that parents might have. Visit my Website and Facebook page from more information and details!

Around the country, so many positive companies, organizations and individuals (like Chuck!) are working on climate change education, mitigation and adaptation; this is what keeps us at ClimateMama motivated, empowered and hopeful. Yet, we continue to be confronted by “loud voices” that want to deny the reality of climate change, and put roadblocks in our progress to steam the worst of the impacts of the changes that are already with us. This often come to us from unlikely and unsuspecting sources, including politicians and “think tanks.”

Grab the kids in your life, and show them two easy ways you can fight for Reality on Climate Change together today:

Unacceptable Levels examines the results of the chemical revolution of the 1940s through the eyes of affable filmmaker Ed Brown, a father seeking to understand the world in which he and his wife are raising their children. To create this debut documentary, one man and his camera traveled extensively to find and interview top minds in the fields of science, advocacy, and law. Weaving their testimonies into a compelling narrative, Brown presents us with the story of how the chemical revolution brought us to where we are, and of where, if we’re not vigilant, it may take us.

Welcome to Climate Mama

You are a mother, a father, a grandparent, an uncle, an aunt, a teacher or a child at heart. When you hear the Native American saying, “We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children”, it makes you stop for a moment and think. You love nature, travel, adventure and believing in a world that is special and unique. Climate change and global warming are words that alarm you, that often seem too big to get your arms around. You care about what’s happening to the world and notice small changes in your own life that seem to point in the direction of a threatened environment. But you wonder if these changes are real, and if they are you can’t imagine what you can do to help change what is happening.

Climate Mamas and Papas

Climate Change so often seems too big to get our hands around. We wonder where we can start and how we can actually make a difference. Each one of us has a different path that we will follow. Some of us cut a wider swath than others, but each of us has a role to play. We would like to introduce you to some amazing individuals, Climate Mamas and Papas who are making a difference, who are, through their daily lives, affecting the lives of all of us. They inspire us, empower us, and challenge us to reach for the stars, to strive to do the best we can to help change the crash course we are currently on with our environment. Lets meet some of these amazing people and find out what inspires them. Meet our featured Climate Papa, Gregg Kleiner, today!

Featured Partner

The Climate Reality Project employs cutting-edge communications and grassroots engagement tools to break the dam of inaction and raise the profile of the climate crisis to its proper state of urgency. With a Global movement of more than 5 million strong and a grassroots network of Climate Leaders trained by Al Gore, the Climate Reality Movement stands up to denial, presses for solutions and spreads the truth about climate change to empower leaders to solve the climate crisis. Climate Reality is leading the way and helping us find and hold onto Climate Hope!